The Knicks Had a Chemistry Problem

You can assemble the greatest stars in the world, but if they can’t mesh cohesively, you won’t win any championships. Jeremy Lin went from a complete unknown, to the second or third most famous basketball player in the world and had the top 2nd or 3rd selling NBA jersey as of a few months ago. He was manna from heaven, a humble dude with brains who wanted to share the ball. Jeremy held the promise of a bright new future for the New York Knicks, and may have transformed into their greatest point guard since Clyde. But we’ll never know now, will we?

Lin was banished from the team because his agent went back to Houston and asked for a shorter term will a huge balloon payment in the third year. Was this done as a Knicks-deal killer? James Dolan, the Knick’s owner, certainly took it as a sign of disrespect and disloyalty, so he immediately bought the rights to Raymond Felton, telling Felton Lin was out. The rest of us didn’t find out for sure until we woke up today.

Meanwhile, you have to wonder: Did Jeremy intentionally provoke Dolan? Was he actually seeking an early exit from the Knicks? If so, then we have to assume Jeremy was not comfortable with his current situation for some reason. A big unspoken factor may have been the loss of his closest ally on the team, fellow brainiac Landry Fields, who was never the same player after the Melo trade, just another unselfish player the Knicks let loose.

As point guard, Jeremy should be the natural leader of his team. Obviously, this was not going to happen around Carmelo Anthony. Doesn’t matter who you want to blame for this catastrophe, losing the fans’ favorite player is just another indication the Knicks have a serious chemistry problem.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have their point guard of the future, and it looks like Dwight Howard is still a possibility to join Lin in Houston, which would instantly transform them into a title contender–provided they can manage the chemistry problems that plagued both the Magic and the Knicks this year. Howard and Anthony are very similar players. Although they clearly are the franchise players on their respective teams, they prefer to run their show with whispers and backdoor politics, while playing the innocent role in public.

Lin, on the other hand, is a standup guy willing to put his ego aside for the benefit of his team and those are the players than win championships. It’s not about talent as much as it’s about chemistry.

by Steven Hager

The first reporter to document hip hop and the instigator of the film Beat Street, Hager founded the Cannabis Cup, organized the first 420 ceremonies outside of Marin County, and launched the hemp movement with Jack Herer while writing some landmark conspiracy articles.